Undesirable vibration energy occurs in a variety of products and devices. For example, in automotive vehicles, the engine and other automotive systems can cause vibration to permeate through the vehicle body and into the vehicle's passenger compartment. Similar undesirable vibration energy occurs in a variety of other situations, such as in household appliances and other types of transportation vehicles, to name a few.
To reduce undesirable vibration energy, vibration damping materials may be applied to the surfaces of mechanical components subjected to vibrational disturbances. Such damping materials dissipate a portion of the vibrational energy applied to them. For vehicle applications, such damping materials may be applied to a number of surfaces of the vehicle panels, floors, etc., to reduce the vibration or noise felt by the vehicle occupant.
The damping material may be formulated as a water based coating that can be sprayed onto a panel using a robotically controlled spray head. To prevent the damping material from drying on the spray head when not in use, and potentially clogging nozzle openings in the spray head, the spray head may be submerged in a liquid bath, such as deionized water. Compressed air jets may be used to blow off excess water from the spray head prior to commencing spraying. This could result in water being inadvertently blown onto nearby vehicle panels, which could cause undesirable defects in subsequently applied coatings, such as paint.